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PHILADELPHIA: 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. 

1891. 



PENNSYLVANIA, 



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PHILADELPHIA: 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. 

1891. 



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Copyright, 1891, by J. B. Ltppincott Company. 




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PENNSYLVANIA. 



PeilllSjlvania, since 1830 the second in popu- 
lation of the United States of America, is in shape 
a parallel ogram, lying almost entirely between 42° 
and 39° 43' 26" N. lat. (Mason and Dixon's Line, 
q.v.), and between the irregular W-sliaped Dela- 
ware River and 80° 31' 36" W. long. It is about 
160 miles wide and 302 miles lono- from east to 
west; in area (45,215 sq, m.) it is the twenty- 
eighth state of the Union. In the north-western 
corner a triangular section extends to 42° 15' N., 
forming part of the western boundary of New 
York, and giving Pennsylvania about 45 miles 
of coast on Lake Erie, with an excellent harbour 
at Erie. 

The Appalachian (q.v.) system of mountains 
crosses Pennsylvania from north-east to south- 
west. It here attains its greatest breadth, but 
none of the ridges reach any great altitude, though 
a few peaks among the Alleghanies attain a height 
of more than 2500 feet. Between the Blue or 
Kittatinny Mountains on the east and the higher 
Alleghany range on the west lie numerous minor 
forest-clad chains, interspersed with picturesque 
valleys, many of them rendered exceedingly fertile 
by the limestone bed which produces their soil. 
The surface of the state is naturally divided into 
three sections, the low district south-east of the 
mountains, the mountainous i-egion, and the broken 
hilly plateau in the west. The triangular south- 
eastern part of the state consists of a narrow level 
plain near the Delaware River, with an elevation 
of not more than 100 feet above the sea, merging 
into a higher rolling region which extends to the 
base of the mountains. From Canada to the south- 
ern limit of the Appalachians extends an almost 
continuous valley, lying east of the main ranges, 



4 PENNSVL VA NIA . 

and separated from the coast region by the skii-ting 
south-eastern ridge. This ' great valley' is through- 
out its whole extent protected by a southern or 
eastern wall, except in Pennsyh^ania, where, 
through a break of about 50 miles, the Cumber- 
land Valley is without a barrier toward the sea, 
and the fertile calcareous soil spreads out over 
Lancaster and parts of York, Berks, and Chester 
counties, making this one of the best farming 
regions of the country. The mountain region 
covers a belt which in places is more than 100 
miles in width, and emljraces about one-fourth 
of the area of the state. More than twenty ranges 
have been named, and the whole region is justly 
celebrated for its scenery. The rivers have in 
various places cut gaps through the ridges, thus 
affording passages for travel and commerce. Many 
of these water-gaps are exceedingly [ucturesque, 
and are much visited by tourists. The western 
plateau region comprises about one-half the area 
of the state ; it is crossed by a few ridges, contains 
some isolated peaks, and is deeply furrowed by 
watercourses. Much of this section is heavily 
wooded. 

The geology of Pennsylvania is particularly 
remai'kable on account of the great development 
of the different periods of the Paleozoic era. The 
formations in the south-eastern part of the state 
are in dispute, but the vicinity of Philadelphia is 
generally admitted to be Archjiean, and a little 
farther north is a belt of Quaternary alluvium. 
The Silurian deposits, which extend along the Hud- 
son River in New York, continue into Pennsylvania 
and form the Kittatinny INIountains. The Devonian 
area of New York also covers a large part of the 
northern and north-eastern portion of Pennsyl- 
vania. West of the Kittatinnies the mountains 
present alternate Silurian and Devonian forma- 
tions. West of the AUeghanies, throughout the 
great bituminous coalfields, the rocks are mainly 
conglomerate. The mountains and the western 
plateau region were originally highly elevated 
tracts, and have suffered to a vast extent from 
erosion. They have contributed nearly all the 
material for building up the lowland regions of 
New Jersey, Delaware, INIaryland, and Virginia, 
and for the formation of the Lower Mississippi 
valley. The geological disturbances have been 
greatest and most frequent in the eastern part 
of the state, where the beds of anthracite coal 
occur at all angles and in some cases in a vertical 



PENNSYLVANIA. 6 

position, wliereas the bituminous coal-beds of the 
western field are nearly horizontal. The breaking 
of the strata and the enormous pressure to which 
the eastern coal-deposits have been subjected has 
resulted in giving Pennsylvania the most valuable 
anthracite basins of the country. It is a notable 
fact that the percentage of gas in the coal regularly 
increases from the eastern ranges to the western 
coal-measures. Although Pennsylvania is one of 
the richest mineral regions of the world, there is 
no department of her mineral wealth in which she 
exercises such exclusive control as in her deposits 
of anthracite coal. The bituminous coal is excel- 
lent in quality and variety, and the amount is prac- 
tically inexhaustible, but the western coalfields 
are only pa,rt of a vast deposit which extends west- 
ward and southward into adjoining states. The 
iron ore which has contributed so materially to 
her wealth and prosperity is mined from an ex- 
tensive belt which reaches on the north to Canada 
and on the south to Alabama. Even the petroleum 
and natural gas which are such important products 
of western Pennsylvania are found in otiier sec- 
tions ; but as yet her anthracite coal-basins are 
without a rival. The anthracite tract covers an 
area of 472 sq. m. , and is situated in the highland 
district between the Delaware and Susquehanna 
rivers. The most important deposits lie in three 
great fields, known as the southern, middle, and 
northern fields. It is estimated that v/ith an out- 
put of 100,000,000 tons per year the anthracite 
mines would not be exhausted for two centuries. 
At present the production is about one-third of 
that estimate. Pittsburgh is the centre of the 
bituminous region, and the annual production is 
about 25,000,000 tons. The proximity of coal and 
iron in such vast quantities has made Pennsyl- 
vania a great mining and manufacturing state. 
Though equalled or surpassed by Michigan in the 
mining of iron ore, Pennsj^lvania still leads in the 
manufacture of pig-iron. 

Tlie successful boring for Petroleum (q.v.) in 1859 
produced an excitement which was not surpassed 
even by the discovery of gold in California. For- 
tunes were made and lost in a day. The mining 
of petroleum and the manufacture of the various 
articles produced from it have created new and im- 
portant industries. Tiie utilisation of natural 
gas for he.ating and manufacturing purposes has 
also gi-eatly modified methods of living in Avestern 
Pennsylvania. Gold, silver, copper, and tin exist 



6 PENNSYLVANIA. 

in Pennsylvania, but not in paying quantities, 
though copper is mined to a limited extent in 
Montgomery county. There are large zinc-works 
at South Bethlehem, and nickel is obtained in 
Lancaster county. 

The eastern j^art of the state is drained by the 
Delaware and its tributaries the Schuylkill and 
Lehigh. The Susquehanna, with its attiuents the 
North Branch, the West Branch, and the ' beau- 
tiful Juniata,' occupies the central drainage area. 
The Susquehanna is too rapid and too shallow for 
navigation, but it is used for floating quantities of 
timber, and coal, lumber, and other products are 
carried by the canals along its banks. A portion 
of the north-western region belongs to the valley 
of the Genesee, but the greater part of western 
Pennsylvania is drained by the Alleghany and 
Monongahela rivers, which, uniting at Pittsbiirgh 
to form the Ohio, furnish the state with a great 
highway of inland navigation. Pennsylvania has 
now in operation 8500 miles of railroad, and nearly 
800 miles of canals. 

In the mountains and wooded sections the 
smaller wild animals are still abundant. The 
panther, wild cat, and black bear are occasionally 
seen, and in some places the deer and wild turkey 
are not uncommon. The climate is healthful, bivt 
subject to extremes, and much modified by differ- 
ences of elevation. Heavy snows fall on the moun- 
tains in winter, and the rivers of the western half 
of the state are often flooded in spring and summer 
(see e.g. Johnstown). Nearly one-fourth of the 
state is wooded ; lumbering is one of the sources 
of wealth in the north, and farther south and west 
are great forests of hemlock, which maintain some 
of the largest tanneries in the world. In the Pocono 
swamps and plateaus, between the AVyoming and 
Kittatinny Mountains, the virgin growth of beech 
is known as the 'Shades of Death.' The soil, ex- 
cept in the mountains, is rich and fertile. Agri- 
culture is a leading occupation, and in many crops 
Pennsylvania holds a high rank. The mountain 
regions and the western plateau are well suited for 
grazing, and the horses, cattle, sheep, and dairy 
products are noted for their excellence. The most 
important industries of Pennsylvania are mining 
and manufacturing. The amount of capital in- 
vested is greater than in any other state, and in 
the value of her manufactured products Pennsyl- 
vania is surpassed only by New York. Her com- 
merce, both foreign and domestic, is very extensive. 



PENNSYLVANIA. 7 

Shipbuilding is an interest of importance ; river- 
steamers are built at Pittsburgh, and the perfec- 
tion reached in the construction of iron steam- 
ships on the banks of the Delaware has given to 
that stream the title of the ' Clyde of America. ' 

History. — The first permanent settlement in the 
state was made in 1643 by Swedes, at the present 
site of Chester. Their colony of New Sweden was 
twelve years later conquered by the Dutch. 
In 1664 the English obtained possession, and the 
territory now called Pennsylvania was in 1681 
granted by Charles II. to William Penn (q.v.). 
The friendly relations already existing betw^een the 
whites and the Indians were re-established by Penn 
by a treaty, which was faithfully observed by both 
parties for more than fifty years. During the French 
and Indian wars, how^ever, and again during the 
w^ar of the revolution, the frontier settlements were 
attacked. In the struggle for independence and 
in the civil war Pennsylvania took a prominent part, 
and witnessed a number of the most famous battles 
and events connected with each. Schools were 
established by the earliest settlers, and a system 
of education formed part of the original scheme of 
government prepared by William Penn. The pub- 
lic schools now are attended by over a million 
pupils, and there are more than twenty univer- 
sities and colleges in the state. A system of 
Soldiers' Orphan Schools was established in 1865, 
and there are numerous other charitable and edu- 
cational institutions. There is a large foreign 
element in the population ; many of the miners 
and ironworkers, especially, are of Irish, Hun- 
garian, and Italian birth, and serious riots have 
not seldom occurred (see also Molly Maguires). 
Among the farmers a very large proportion are 
of German descent, and still speak the patois 
known as 'Pennsylvania Dutch.' This belongs to 
the South German dialects, and is most closely 
related to the Pfalzisch ; it preserves many old and 
curious German words, but is also interspersed 
more or less with Germanised English words, 
according to the locality. There are perhaps two 
million people around Philadelphia and New York 
who speak the patois ; and in the country south- 
east of the Alleghanies they have their own dia- 
lectal newspapers. Specimens (spelt phonetically) 
of the dialect may be given : ' Ich trink tschenerli 
rooter wei ' ( I generally drink red wine ) ; and 
"s wetter iss d'r gants daak schee gwest' (the 
weather has been fine the entire day). See Prof. 



8 PENNSYL VA NT A . 

S. S. Haldeman's Pennsylvania Dutch (1872) ; also 
A. J. Ellis's Early English Pronunciation ( part iv. 
1875). 

The state contains sixty-seven counties, and re- 
turns twenty-eight members to congress. Phila- 
delphia, the metropolis of the state, is the leading 
manufacturing city of the Union and ranks third 
in population. Among other important cities, 
besides Pittsburgh and Alleghany, which form in 
all their interests a single community, are Harris- 
burg, the capital (pop. 1890, 39,385), Scranton 
(75,215), Reading (58,661), Erie (40,634), Wilkes 
Barre (37,718), Lancaster (32,011), Altoona 
(30,337), Williamsport (27,132), Allentown (25,228), 
York (20,793), Chester (20,226), &c. Pop. of the 
state (1800) 602,365; (1840) 1,724,633; (1880) 
4,282,891; (1890)5,258,014. 



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